Textbook author speaks to Williamson County parents

The April 18 article "Parents see bias in Williamson textbook" concerned the geography textbook "The Cultural Landscape" that I authored. Parents raised concerns about the second sentence in this paragraph:

"Distinguishing terrorism from other acts of political violence can be difficult. For example, if a Palestinian suicide bomber kills several dozen Israeli teenagers in a Jerusalem restaurant, is that an act of terrorism or wartime retaliation against Israeli government policies and army actions? Competing arguments are made: Israel's sympathizers denounce the act as a terrorist threat to the country's existence, whereas advocates of the Palestinian cause argue that long-standing injustices and Israeli army attacks on ordinary Palestinian civilians provoked the act."

The chapter on world religions has been reviewed for accuracy and sensitivity by a large number of geography experts as well as by religious scholars, including scholars of Judaism.

I agree with school officials stating the sentence concerning Palestinians was taken out of context and should be read as part of an entire paragraph.

Concerns raised by several parents in Williamson County have not been expressed anywhere else in the U.S.

I appreciate the interest and concern that parents are taking in geography, and the inclusion of it in the curriculum of Williamson County schools.

James Rubenstein

Oxford, Ohio

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Textbook author speaks to Williamson County parents

The April 18 article 'Parents see bias in Williamson textbook' concerned the geography textbook 'The Cultural Landscape' that I authored. Parents raised concerns about the second sentence in this